Contact: Sasha Steinberg
Photo by: Beth Wynn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--ROTC cadets at Mississippi State University and University of Mississippi again are teaming up to sponsor a new Egg Bowl tradition for both institutions.
The second Egg Bowl Run begins Monday [Nov. 24] on the Starkville campus as a lead-up to the nationally televised Saturday afternoon [Nov. 29] football game between the two Southeastern Conference rivals.
This year's Egg Bowl will be played at Ole Miss's Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
"This is the first year that we've flip-flopped the route," said Michael Hunter, MSU senior military science instructor and battalion operations officer who coordinates the event.
"Our cadets do physical training every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5:45-7 a.m., but this time, we'll back up our physical training to 4:45 a.m., and do a group run off campus," he said, adding that "the group that's running with the football will just continue to Calhoun City while the rest of them will peel off and go back to campus."
Each Bulldog cadet will take turns running two or three miles with the football in hand from the MSU campus to the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and State Highway 9 in Eupora. From there, they will travel north up Highway 9 to Calhoun City, which is an approximate midpoint between the two institutions of higher learning.
In Calhoun City, the MSU and UM cadets will participate in a ball-hand-off ceremony.
With the ball now in their hands, Ole Miss cadets will begin a 40-mile run back to the Oxford campus, where they will deliver the pigskin--earlier autographed by MSU head football coach Dan Mullen--to be signed by Hugh Freeze, his counterpart at Ole Miss.
In addition to the coaches, the ball will bear the signatures of MSU President Mark E. Keenum and UM Chancellor Dan Jones, as well as the professor of military science at each institution.
Keenum said, "It's a very intense rivalry, but to see these young men and women in the Army and Air Force ROTC programs from both of our institutions, these future leaders in our state and country, come together around this game is really special, and I'm very proud of them."
Mullen seconded Keenum's remarks, noting that "There's so much competition in the game" that produces "as fierce a rivalry as there is in the country.
"I think the Egg Bowl is kind of the pinnacle of all the competitions between the schools," Mullen continued, "The Egg Bowl Run and the school spirit that everybody has, I think, shows that it goes beyond the actual game itself and that rivalry and how big it is."
To be televised by CBS, the final regular-season game for both schools kicks off at 2:30 p.m.
Hunter said more than 40 Bulldog cadet volunteers will participate in this year's event.
"We're also incorporating some cadets from the Air Force ROTC program, and we have extended an offer to some of our alumni to participate as well," Hunter said.
Fans with Apple and Android devices may track the Egg Bowl Run by downloading a free MyAthlete Live Tracker app at www.myathletelive.com/events/.
The event also may be viewed via computer at the same link under the name "2nd Annual Egg Bowl Run." There will be only one "Athlete" to select under the event: "MSU & UMS ROTC Cadets."
After again expressing appreciation for last year's fan turnout and support, Hunter said he expects to see a bigger crowd this year--and many more cowbells--both along the route and at the town square in Calhoun City.
"The morning of the run, we will activate the GPS device, and the runners' location will then show up on a pre-defined route on the site or app," he said. "We think the GPS tracker is a great way for people to see when the runners may be getting close to their home or business, so they can come out and support the cadets."
Hunter said he hopes an important life lesson will resonate with all cadets involved long after they complete the 2014 event.
"We look at it as even though there's a rivalry between the two universities, there are common goals that our cadets have: to complete the Egg Bowl Run and to get commissioned," he said. "Just like in the Army, you're going to work with other units to accomplish a common goal or mission, so this event allows us to start introducing the cadets to that concept."
For more about the Egg Bowl Run, contact Hunter at 662-325-1588 or mhunter@armyrotc.msstate.edu.
Details on the 2014 Egg Bowl are available at www.hailstate.com and via Twitter @HailStateFB, using hashtag #HailState.
Learn more about MSU's military science department and Bulldog Battalion at www.armyrotc.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msuarmyrotc and twitter.com/MsStateROTC.
Mississippi's flagship research university is online at www.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.